Piper PA 31 accident near Northport, AL
On August 14, 2016, a Piper PA 31 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Northport, AL. 6 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 14, 2016
- Place
- Northport, AL
- Aircraft
- Piper PA 31 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 6 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 33.223°N, 87.600°W
- NTSB ID
- 20160814X40011
Official records · ERA16FA289
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Air Traffic Control Transcripts: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 14, 2016, about 1115 central daylight time, a Piper PA-31-325, N447SA, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain near Northport, Alabama, while diverting to Tuscaloosa Regional Airport (TCL), Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The private pilot and five passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was owned by Oxford University Aircraft Charters, LLC and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which departed Kissimmee Gateway Airport (ISM), Orlando, Florida, about 0855 with an intended destination of Oxford University Airport (UOX), Oxford, Mississippi. According to the fixed-based operator that serviced the airplane before departure, the pilot and passengers arrived at ISM on August 10. Fuel receipts indicated that the airplane's fuel tanks were "topped off" with 134 gallons of fuel before departure on the day of the accident. In the filed flight plan, the pilot reported that the airplane had about 5 hours 10 minutes of fuel on board. According to air traffic control data, at 0915 the airplane leveled off in cruise flight at 12,000 ft mean sea level. At 1059, the pilot reported a failure of the right engine fuel pump and requested a diversion to the nearest airport. The controller then provided radar vectors toward runway 30 at TCL. When the airplane was about 13 miles from TCL, the pilot reported that the airplane "lost both fuel pumps" and that there was "no power." The airp
Probable cause
A total loss of power in both engines due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's fuel mismanagement, and his subsequent failure to follow the emergency checklist. Contributing to the pilot's failure to follow the emergency checklist was his lack of emergency procedures training in the accident airplane.
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Browse: Alabama · Piper aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
